Who Are The 53 Percent?

Wow! We are certainly living in historical times. We encourage you to pause for a moment and consider a few recent, historical events:

A global financial crisis not seen since the 1920’s

The liberation of several Middle East countries: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lybia

The assassination of Osama Bin Laden

The rise of Google and Apple along with the death of Steve Jobs

We could fill a page with recent historical events – many of which are meaningful to the entrepreneurial effort. Clearly the most impactful event to your daily life is that of the global economy. Staying true to the great American spirit, protesters took to the streets (all across the country) in the Occupy Wallstreet movement. These protesters consider themselves the “99 percent” who are not millionaires in the United States. Furthermore, they blame corporate greed and lack of regulations for the financial crisis and current unemployment rate (still about 9%). While BossStart may not fully agree with the Occupy Wallstreet theory, we fully support their right to assemble and speak. This concept is a bedrock in our democratic society.

As the Occupy Wallstreet movement continued, another group became somewhat irritated – not really accepting of the Occupy stance. This group emerged as ‘We Are 53’. ‘We Are 53’ represents the 53% of Americans who will (as opposed to those who will not) pay federal income taxes this year. Similar to Occupy, ‘We Are 53’ is a grassroots moment – but from the conservative perspective vs. that of the liberal. The ‘We Are 53’ folks share stories of: accountability, being responsible, taking ownership of your future, taking risks, contributing to society and the economy in general. The ‘We Are 53’ crowd is just as frustrated with the economic conditions but don’t look to Washington for the fix – and we couldn’t agree more!

The “fix” is going to come from our readers – and entrepreneurs throughout this country! You are the backbone of this great nation and you will be the solution to the current economic crisis.

One source states the following:

Fully 99 percent of all independent enterprises in the country employ fewer than 500 people. These small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Some 19.6 million Americans work for companies employing fewer than 20 workers, 18.4 million work for firms employing between 20 and 99 workers, and 14.6 million work for firms with 100 to 499 workers. By contrast, 47.7 million Americans work for firms with 500 or more employees.

Furthermore, entrepreneurs are the primary source of diversity, equality, minority and female-owned small businesses that are currently on the rise. (By the way: All these small business owners – in addition to taking risks – are paying taxes!)

But wait!

Like an infomercial: THERE’S MORE….

Let’s not forget the entrepreneurial spirit that gave birth to the following organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Toms, McDonalds…. Today, you wouldn’t classify them as a small businesses and the iPhone-toting Occupy group would certainly consider them a part of Wallstreet. But lets acknowledge that these large companies, and countless others, were a result of great entrepreneurialism!! Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Jeff Bezos – they didn’t sit in a local park and complain about what they’re entitled to – they spent their time creating, designing, taking risks, and building a business!

Jacob is an Entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder of BossStart and also operates the web-based business iWebXpert.com. He has a degree in Marketing from USF in Tampa, FL. Jacob uses his experience from founding numerous businesses to enhance the entrepreneurial adventures of BossStart readers.

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